1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a robotic assembly apparatus having a robot tool for placing a plurality of component parts on a workpiece. The invention is more particularly concerned with a robot tool which allows a plurality of similar parts to be placed simultaneously onto a receiving workpiece in a pattern which may vary in accordance with the particular workpiece.
The invention may advantageously be used in the robotic manufacture of keyboards where keypads, keybuttons or key springs need to be placed on or in a keyboard frame, the pitch between the key buttons etc being dependent upon the particular model of keyboard being manufactured.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent year, robots have been increasingly used in automated assembly operations to perform repetitious and generally tedious work. Typically the robot will be presented with a series of workpieces onto or into each of which must be placed a number of components or parts. In its simplest form, the robotic assembly apparatus would serve to place a single type of component part into or onto a single type of workpiece. In a more sophisticated version, a number of robotic assembly apparatus might be served by a single robot but with each robotic assembly apparatus being used to place a single type of component part into or onto a single type of workpiece.
A more flexible arrangement would allow a robot assembly apparatus to deal with a plurality of different types of workpiece with different component parts, a manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic system being used to identify the type (and orientation) of the workpieces and the type (and orientation) of the component parts to be placed therein or thereon. However for maximum benefit a fully automatic system would be required and this in turn implies the need for a complicated and expensive logic and recognition system which may have a consequential detrimental impact on the reliability and serviceability of the equipment. The means by which workpieces and components are correctly orientated and positioned would also be complicated.